Ep. 051 - My Journey to CEO with Paula Cogan, CEO of euNetworks
There’s no more iconic role in business than that of a CEO, so what’s the secret to reaching the top of the proverbial ladder?
It’s a role that Paula Cogan has held since January 2023, and the result of each step in a career teeming with leadership roles.
Want to follow in these footsteps? Paula shares the highs and lows of her journey to becoming euNetworks’ CEO, and the key attributes that’ll help you achieve the same.
Key takeaways from this episode:
Understand what drives your role models
Start building your C-suite network
Never stop learning
Gary Gamp: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garygamp
George Clode: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeclode
Paula Cogan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulacogan/
Highlights:
“You do need a degree of personal resilience. Being the CEO can be a lonely place, because at the end of the day, although I've got a fantastic team that helps me through decision making, the buck stops with me.” - 6:00 - Paula Cogan
“Get as much cross-functional experience. I came from a sales background, but equally, a CFO makes a fantastic CEO as well.” - 7:50 - Paula Cogan
“You do build that resilience through experience, through adversity and through managing challenges. But I've also got a really good network of trusted people in business that I can bounce ideas off.” - 14:05 - Paula Cogan
“Growth is important. We are owned by private equity, and it's important that we create value for our shareholders, but also growth of our organisation. Culture is important, because we’ll only create financial growth and meet our financial metrics, if we have engaged, happy people in our workforce.” - 22:00 - Paula Cogan
“Identify some role models, and think about the qualities of this individual that you admire, that you aspire to.” - 25:45 - Paula Cogan
